Down By Law / The Bomb / Pseudo Heroes

Today's lineup consists of Break The Silence, The Psuedo Heroes, The Bomb, and the mighty Down By Law. The place, Joliet Illinois, the Cantigy VFW post.

About an hour after the doors open, Break The Silence start their set. They do a potent mix of nuevo hardcore and old school punk, and manage to not get tiring. They put on an engaging show, and were pretty good. According to the singer Dan, they'll have a proper album out in February. I'll have to pick that up.

Another 30-40 mintues later, to much less fanfare, Tampa's Pseudo Heroes take the stage. A trio that includes Sam Williams III, PH played their hearts out for a generaly apathetic crowd. They started off by playing the "wimpy stuff" from their catalogue, which in my humble opinion wasn't wimpy at all. I was impressed, if the crowd wasn't. Midway through, Sam and the bassist Kevin switched gear for "the down tuned stuff." I'd heard that their latest album 'Prison of Small Perception' was a whirlwind mix, and they proved to me that it is. The second half was just as solid, with Sam and Kevin trading vocal duties. The Pseudo Heroes left the stage, and eventually got their due. They won the crowd, and me, over.

Next up, The Bomb. Now, I feel that I'm obligated to tell you that the singer is Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun fame. Jeff is one hell of a frontman, and seeing him and his purpl pants with a new band in such small quarters was amazing. The Bomb tore through material from their full lengths, and even debuted a new song to us. To the delight of everyone, covers of the beloved Raygun tunes "Home of the Brave" and "Soldier's Requim" were stomped out with vigor and passion. I may not have got to see Naked Raygun live, but I did get to see The Bomb. That's one pretty damn high complement. After the set, I managed to talk to Jeff about his label, Jettison Music (Shattered Angel 7" coming soon!), and he was an amazingly down to earth guy.

Finally, the moment came. Dave Smalley, Milo Todesco, Sam Williams III, and Keith Davies took the stage and owned it from the very first second. A ripping version of "Independence Day" was first, and the rest of the set order becomes a blur. They were so tight and on fire, I can't describe it in words. Dave in a Hawiian shirt and cowboy hat sang his balls off on every tune, Sam played the hottest licks in town, and Milo & Keith lumbered along like Meatloaf outta hell. Every album except 'Fly The Flag' was represented, with a heavy emphasis on the tunes selected for the "Punkrockdays" compilation. All the songs gained just a bit of speed and a shitload of energy. '500 Miles' closed out the opening part, but it was obvious something special was coming.

A member of the Dag Nasty message board had flown from Hawaii to see the show, and all of us benefited. Just Dave and Sam took the stage to do a guitar rendition of "Under Your Influence" which I can only describe as saintly. Every single person there sang, and eventually we outshone Dave's beautiful vocals. With no set list left, the band listened. Playing such obscurities as "Post Office Lament" and the biggie "No Equalizer" they dedicated a final Stiff Little Fingers cover of 'Nobody's Hero' to all of us in the room. I got to meet the band, take a bunch of awesome pictures, and even got 4 bucks off my merch becuase they liked me so much. This is my new favorite show.

DBL songs (not in order)

Right or Wrong
Best Friends
Last Brigade
Hit or Miss
Flower Tattoo (Milo vocals)
500 miles
Bright Green Globe
Punk as Fuck (Keith Vocals)
Independence Day
All American
Gruesome Gary
Radio Ragga
Superman
Post Office Lament
No Equalizer
Next To Go
Boot the Boots in
Going Wrong (Sam vocals)
8th and Main (Keith vocals)
Under Your Influence (Dag Nasty)
Nobody's Hero (SLF)